Sissy & The Blisters - Killing Time

It feels like it's been timewarp month for me at The Metaphorical Boat, with a lot of the artists covered being ones that I first mentioned over a year ago (including Gaolers Daughter, Fuzzy Empire & Fantasy Rainbow). Not one to break a seemingly winning formula, it's time to talk about the new release from Sissy & The Blisters, whom we first mentioned on the blog way in September last year. It's taken them 11 months to get around to getting material released because, according to their PR, they "had put out all the music they’d ever written."

Thankfully, their latest single, "Killing Time", has been worth the wait. If you liked the regressive indie-rock of "Let It Go", then you will probably find lots to like in this single, with it's heavy guitars, rather pop-oriented hooks, and surprisingly, an organ riff that sounds suspiciously sinilar to The Banana Splits. Sissy & The Blisters are a band with no apparent agenda, no esoteric style, and no pretencions. Just straight-up enjoyable songs. And they're all the better for it.

"Killing Time" will be released on August 27th on vinyl, CD & digital.

Hologram - Touch & Go

Belfast based 4-piece Hologram might be a new band, but they already have a great pedigree behind them. Singer/ivory tinkler Paul Shevlin had previously been a member of local folk group The 1930s, as well as releasing several brilliant piano-pop singles under his own name. 

The first release from the newly formed group is "Touch & Go", which in comparison to previous releases by Shevlin is firmly in alt-rock territory, with its soaring guitar lines and intense production values.

"Touch & Go" is available now as a free download.

Keston Cobblers' Club - Your Mother

Following the June release of the promo single from the group's upcoming debut album, Kent group Keston Cobblers' Club have released the latest song which will feature on the album. "Your Mother" is a great slice of summery folk, but what is really great about the release is the video the band shot to coincide with the release.

The music video, which is shot in one unedited take, is set in a Jungle Jims, and follows what appears to be a young women wearing a fox mask playing in the facilities whilst surrounded by other dancers. It is choreographed superbly, featuring a rather memorable dance routine, and a rather intricate 'cup dance'. It looks as if it was an incredibly fun video to make, and without sounding premature, it could possibly be the best music video I will see all year.

"Your Mother" is taken from Keston Cobblers' Club's debut album, "One, For Words", which will be released on August 27th.

Fuzzy Empire - Chroma

In my review of the last single by Dublin based trio Fuzzy Empire, I indicated that "Contraband" could act as a new 'Ground Zero' for the electronica group. Little did I know that the band, now signed to Swedish label Substeam, would do a complete u-turn from the latter's electro-punk styles, and release a song that's more R.E.M than LCD Soundsystem.

Their latest song release, "Chroma" still has the hallmarks of a Fuzzy Empire song, with interesting uses of electronic noodling (the main keyboard riff is taken from manipulated samples of guitar harmonics), and an intense, driving rhythm. Other aspects of their sound have changed, with the structure of the song being a lot more 'traditional' than their other songs, and the vocals of Emmet, which have a Michael Stipe-esque quality to them, take centre stage for the first time. Fuzzy Empire are a criminally under-rated group who seem to completely confound my expectations with each one of their releases, which can only make their upcoming releases a joy to behold.

"Chroma" will feature on their upcoming E.P, which will be released in September on Substream Records.

To Kill a King - Word of Mouth E.P

I can only guess that London based group To Kill a King have given their latest E.P the title "Word of Mouth" in the hope that those who listen to it and enjoy it are encouraged to pass it along to their friends and followers so that it becomes a, ahem, word of mouth success.

Thankfully, the band doesn't need to rely solely on (un)subliminal messages to encourage people to share the E.P, as it stands on its own as an incredibly strong set of songs, which could be best described as astral folk. Lead track "Howling" is a slow-building track, which goes from Bon Iver to Arcade Fire, by way of Wild Beasts, with "Wolves" and "Funeral" following a similar grandiose pattern. "Besides She Said" shares the same sort of elegence with Noah & The Whale's "Blue Skies" album, whilst the set closes with a cover of Feist's "Let It Die", which has been stripped down to the bare bones.

The only real weak track on the E.P is "Rays", which sounds like Editors being left on auto-pilot. That track aside however, "Word of Mouth" is an incredibly strong release, and one which should see fans of their music waiting with baiting breath for their next record, so that they can pass it along.

"Word of Mouth E.P" by To Kill a King is out now as a free download, with 500 hand-printed copies also available.